Electrocatalytic reduction of NO3- in a neutral solution on an electrodeposited film of amorphous Pd33Ni60P7 alloy

An amorphous Pd33Ni60P7 alloy was prepared by electrodeposition in a bath containing 0.02 mol L−1 PdCl2, 0.04 mol L−1 NiSO4 · 6H2O, 0.24 mol L−1 H3PO3, 0.32 mol L−1 H3BO3, and 0.08 mol L−1 ethylenediamine (C2H8N2), under conditions of pH 4.0, 50 °C and 25 mA cm−2. The amorphous structure of the Pd33Ni60P7 deposit was confirmed with X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The activity of electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate on the amorphous Pd33Ni60P7 deposit was studied with cyclic voltammetric (CV) technique in a neutral 0.1 mol L−1 KClO4 solution with or without KNO3. The results indicate that the Pd33Ni60P7 alloy deposit exhibits a higher activity for the reduction of the nitrate in comparison with the electrodeposited films of Pd, Ni and Pd–Ni, which could be owing to its amorphous structure. The reduction reaction of NO3- on the electrode is a totally irreversible process.